Build, Fly, and Ride a Kite at The Capture the Wind Festival

“Go fly a kite” will be more than just an expression on Fri., Sat. and Sun., July 22-24! That’s when Kid’s Beach Day and the Capture the Wind Festival, free to the public, hit Claremont Beach for three days of kite building and flying, kiteboarding, a Kite Expo and many more special attractions.

The weekend, part of Long Beach Sea Festival 2011, is co-presented by the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Long Beach Airport. The Airport is currently celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the “Vinn Fizz,” an airplane piloted by C. Perry Rodgers that was the first airplane to cross North America (not non-stop), a trip that ended when the plane crash-landed on a city beach…and help spark Long Beach’s burgeoning aerospace industry!

Friday is Kid’s Beach Day, when more than 1,000 underprivileged children from the greater Long Beach area, courtesy of the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department’s Summer Camp Program, will spend a day in the Claremont Launch Ramp area playing beach games, flying kites, building sand castles and trying stand-up paddleboarding.

The Long Beach Police Department SWAT team will fly in by helicopter, drop in the ocean and swim to the kid’s area, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter will show how it scoops up water to fight fires. In addition, the U. S. Coast Guard will stage a helicopter demonstration.

Mayor Bob Foster, 3rd District Councilman Gary DeLong and a representative from L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe’s office are expected to attend.

Saturday and Sunday’s Capture the Wind Festival, open from noon-5 p.m., includes stand-up paddleboard races, kite course racing and big air jumping and tricks contests.

The Kite Expo will feature some of the top professional and local kite riders, as well as free demonstrations and trial runs with the latest equipment from kite and board manufacturers. Visitors can try out stunt kites, get introductory lessons and meet the riders.

Saturday night the event moves to Legends Sports Bar from 7-9 p.m. to watch kite videos, and the event is topped off Sunday night with a grand prize raffle drawing sponsored by JetBlue Airlines.

Food and refreshments will be available on-site at a food garden and a Hawaiian BBQ from Alfredo’s Beach Club.

For further information about the Capture the Wind Festival, call (562) 439-6055 or visit www.scka.org.